Episode: 303

Episode Title: The Respect Initiative

Respect: is it earned or should it be a given? Let’s talk about it, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 303 show:

Greetings and welcome to The Perna Syndicate! As we talk about respect this week, I realize that many of my fellow Boomers struggle with the idea of giving respect to students and younger co-workers before they will give it to us. That’s just the way respect works today. But why is this so hard?

Why are we reluctant to take the first step toward letting young people feel respected? Do we feel we are superior in some way, simply by virtue of having more life experience? Doesn’t that life experience teach us that all individuals are worthy of our respect—without their having to prove it first?

It’s precisely because older generations have more life and work experience that we can be the first to build the bridge. We can see the importance of valuing others and treating them accordingly. 

Demanding respect from others—and withholding respect until we feel it’s been paid to us—will not serve us, our students or our organizational culture.  

Yes, respect is earned—and today, you earn it by respecting others first, no matter what generation you’re from. I’ve found that as soon as people feel respected, they quickly return that respect. Respect lays the groundwork for beneficial relationships across the organization. 

When people feel respected, they’re motivated to live up to that respect. Individuals of all ages will increase their performance when they know it is noticed, valued, and honored. It’s a win-win. So what’s holding us back from taking the initiative to show respect? 

Tomorrow: what’s the for-now direction and how can we use it to keep young people moving forward? We’ll cover that and more on the next episode of The Perna Syndicate. See you then!